A Vermont teenager was relentlessly harassed by school bullies to the point of taking her own life.
Isabelle Vezina-Dykema, 14, from Winooski, near Burlington, attended Mill School, an alternative secondary school for students with complex needs, but was the victim of constant bullying.
The teen was in her first year at school and was bullied both in person and through text messages that mocked her appearance and that of her mother, who had been dealing with health issues, including recovering from recent brain surgery. .
Her mother, Heather Miller, said that on the day of Isabelle’s suicide she came home very distraught from school and decided to give her some time to relax, but unbeknownst to her, the bullying had reached a critical point.
Isabelle Vezina-Dykema, 14, right, of Winooski, near Burlington, with her mother, Heather Miller, left. Isabelle took her own life after constant harassment in person and via text messages
The 14-year-old from Winooski, near Burlington, attended Mill School, an alternative secondary school for students with complex needs, but was the victim of constant bullying.
“I thought I was doing the right thing, but in 35 minutes our whole life changed,” Miller tearfully told WCAXdescribing her as “brave, very outgoing (and someone who) loved to dance.”
‘I was excited about the school year, excited about being a freshman. “I’m finally in high school, I’m not going to let things bother me, I’m going to be successful.”
On the day of his death, September 15, Miller shared his devastating news with friends and family.
My world stopped today. We lost our precious Isabelle Vezina. I am forever changed. I cannot and will never be the same without my baby. “None of us will,” Miller wrote.
’14 years with you wasn’t even enough. I have always considered myself strong. I have never felt so weak. I am consumed by a pain too immense to measure and too deep to heal.
Her mother said she feels comforted by the fact that her daughter’s organs were able to be transplanted.
‘She saved 7 lives and gave sight to a child. “His brain was welcomed by autism research, which is a cause near and dear to us,” Miller wrote.
In another post, a photo of an urn containing Isabelle’s ashes can be seen on top of a cabinet in the family’s living room.
“This is not how you were supposed to come home,” Miller wrote in a heartbreaking post.
‘I miss you so much baby. I miss everything about you. The pain is unbearable but we are doing everything we can to honor you and help others.’
The mother, Heather Miller, said Isabelle’s bullies made fun of her mother’s appearance.
The teen was in her first year at school and was harassed both in person and via text message.
The Mill School is investigating the harassment allegations and has not provided further details about them.
Isabelle’s ashes are now in an urn on top of a cabinet in the living room of the family home.
Meanwhile, The Mill School is investigating the harassment claims but has not provided further details about the allegations.
‘We, at Mill School, are devastated by the loss of one of our students. “We are working with the appropriate agencies and continue to provide advisory support,” officials said in a statement.
Teen suicides appear to be a growing problem in Vermont with at least one death each year since 2019 in 14- to 14-year-olds.
‘To a large extent, our teenagers not only feel extreme things, but they also feel that now will be forever. They may have a really strong emotion and feel trapped,” said Matt Wolf, an experienced community organizer with the nonprofit Vermont Afterschool for CBS3.
Christ Allen, left, of the Vermont Department of Mental Health, says at least a third of high school students experience poor mental health. Matt Wolf, right, an experienced community organizer, says teenagers experience very strong emotions
The Vermont Department of Mental Health says at least a third of high school students suffer from poor mental health.
“This is cause for alarm to me, because it means that about half of high school students feel like they don’t matter,” said Chris Allen of VDMH.
‘Our bullies ask for help or scream for help the only way they know how. “I think if we approach them in a more therapeutic way, more worrying rather than punitive, we might get somewhere in reducing bullying,” Allen said.